Rancho San Rafael, Glendale, CA

Rancho San Rafael is Glendale's modern hillside subdivision, a planned community built in the 1990s in the foothills just east of the 2 Freeway. It borrows the name of the old Rancho San Rafael land grant, whose 1860s adobe still stands across town, but its houses are among the newest in the area. Homes follow one consistent look. Two-story Spanish-style houses with stucco walls and clay tile roofs line curving streets, joined by large duplexes built to the same design. Floor plans are roomy and modern, and the matching architecture gives the streets a tidier, more planned feel than the older canyons around it. There's no formal park inside the neighborhood, but trails run through the surrounding slopes, including the Ridge Motorway, a fire road that hikers and mountain bikers use along the crest. There are no shops inside Rancho San Rafael, so dinner means a drive. Montrose's Honolulu Avenue is the usual pick, where the Black Cow Cafe does comfort food from breakfast on and Town Kitchen & Grill has served seasonal American dishes since 2014. The tradeoffs come with the setting. A car is a must, and there's no bus service in the neighborhood. The open hillsides that frame the views also raise wildfire risk, which can push up insurance costs. The payoff is quiet streets with freeway access close enough that downtown Glendale and Pasadena are an easy drive. Late in the day, the clay tile roofs of Rancho San Rafael pick up the sun against the dry grass of the San Rafael Hills.